Star Wars: The Dark Future
by Darth Ryan
Summary: Nearly a century after the events of The Force Awakens, a new galactic Empire has begun to dominate the galaxy, and one small team must reunite the few remaining Jedi to restore balance to the force.
1. Capter 1: Darek

Star Wars - Dark Future: Chapter 1

This is the tale of the last remaining group of Jedi. This story takes place in 134 ABY, approximately 100 years after the events of The Force Awakens. This is part one of an epic continuous story which tells the story of a man named Darek Venofskii and his quest to find the last of the Jedi. Enjoy.

Characters:

Darek Venofskii – Former fighter pilot for the New Age Empire, leader of the small but resilient Jedi Order.

Jes Kanami – Former bounty hunter, strong fighter, crucial member of the Jedi Order

Hayley Tessü – Deadly bounty hunter, worked with Jes Kanami, high-value target, wanted dead or alive on multiple planets, currently works with the Jedi Order

Ren Taambas - Former crew member of the New Age Empire spacecraft, "Slave IV", newest member of the Jedi Order

Jack Taambas – Brother of Ren Taambas, stormtrooper commander for Empire/double agent for the Jedi Order

Darth Sekek – Ruthless leader of the Empire, last remaining Sith Lord, bloodthirsty warrior, goals are to rule the entire galaxy and wipe out the last remaining Jedi

Prologue: Nearly a century after the events of the Force Awakens, there are five existing Jedi in the galaxy. Jedi master Darek Venofskii has spent a great deal of his life searching for the few that can restore balance to the force, but with much of the galaxy under the rule of the oppressive New Age Empire, this has proven to be a difficult task. Not only do the remaining Jedi lack the desire to fight against the tyranny of the evil Dark Sekek, they have little hope in this miniscule rebellion. With three of the five force users tracked down, Darek has taken it upon himself to train and guide the warriors of the light. In a dark and oppressive dystopian world, there may be hope for peace yet. The ultimate mission of the Jedi Order: fulfill the ancient prophecy foretold in the sacred holocrons. Show no mercy, destroy the Empire, and kill Darth Sekek. Restore Balance to the force. Find the last of the Jedi.

Chapter One. Darek.

Darek stood on a cliffside of the Mid-Rim planet Ec Pand. He gazed over the vast sea and each of the planet's four moons as they rose over the horizon, casting a breathtaking reflection upon the remarkably still ocean waters. A cold breeze flew past, bending the tall grasses and causing Darek to shudder, momentarily disrupting his silent meditation. The air was freezing, but still he stood, absorbing the world's natural energy. He could feel the power collectively build inside him. He could feel the force surge through him like a raging storm somehow contained inside a glass jar, just waiting to be opened. The energy of the great and powerful force flowed inside him, up through his chest, filling his mind and extending through his arms, to his fingertips. Darek Venofskii inhaled a large breath and held it in for what seemed like an eternity. His lungs yearned for sweet release from this torture, but he did not yield to physical pain. No, he would release this energy in a different form. Darek scanned his memories for pain, something that would induce a rage inside him unlike any other. He found one. All of a sudden, the built up energy within him turned to raw power, and the force revealed itself. Darek opened his eyes very suddenly, woken from his meditative state, and threw his fists up into the air. The clouds above got darker and started swirling around him, in an ominously unstable fashion. Without a second thought, Darek released all of the pain and torture inside of him in one massive scream, and it was if the atmosphere around him erupted into chaos. The winds violently swept around him and tore through the empty fields like a hurricane, and the previously still ocean became a vessel for the wrath of hell.

Once everything calmed down, Darek fell to the ground, exhausted but relived. This had been the final step in his self training in the ways of the force. Although he was not able to consistently maintain complete control over the force's power, his demonstration of power was significant in another way altogether. Darek was one of the first Jedi in history to be able to completely utilize both light and dark force techniques (not including the Gray Jedi of the Old Sith Wars). This was all part of his plan to restore balance and peace to the force. You cannot have light without dark, nor dark without light. Without dark, light is meaningless. You need both halves to complete the whole. Darek got back up and shook the grass off of his torso. He was wearing the traditional Jedi robes from the time of the Old Republic. He had hand-crafted the outfit himself, although it wasn't terribly practical for combat. It was more symbolic of a time when the Jedi Order was in control, when the Dark and the Light were equal in power. Those times were gone.

Darek made his way away from the edge of the cliff, through the grass fields and up the mountainside. Ec Pand was one of just a handful of planets unoccupied by the massive oppressive Empire. The "New Age Empire" was started by lone Sith Lord Dark Sekek, a disturbed and insane warlord who let nothing stand in his path. He was once a Jedi, but after extensive time studying in the ancient dark arts, became consumed with the dark side. He was obsessed with power, and swore to one day rule over the entire galaxy and install a new, twisted Jedi Order that would make young, force-sensitive children learn the ways of the dark side. Quickly gaining a massive following of old-philosophy imperials, Sekek created an indestructible army that forced any civilization that did not comply with his orders to be exterminated. In an act of rebellion, many Planets resisted the tyranny of the Empire, and even a few long-lost Jedi Knights even came out of hiding to fight against Sekek's forces. These attempts at rebellion, however, were futile. None could stop the impending doom of the New Empire. Leagues of highly and expertly trained stormtroopers could easily defeat any warrior the galaxy could throw at them, and the Empire's weapons technology was off the charts. Technology that people had not even heard of before was in the hands of this now-colossal movement of death, and they were not afraid to use it. Their weaponry made the historical "Death Star" and "Starkiller Base" look like child's play. This was not a force to be messed with. On top of that, the fact that their leader was about as stable as a newborn Rancor when it came to military decisions made it extremely difficult for any sort of reasoning, mutual understanding or compromise between anyone. The galaxy was doomed.

Two things gave Darek some hope, however. For one, Darek had a close friend who currently was working in the Empire's high military ranks as a double-agent, and secondly, he was going to find the last of the Jedi Knights. This was all the hope left in the world.

As Darek reached the top of the mountain, he stopped for a moment to catch his breath and observe the beautiful wilderness before him. The view from the top of the peak was amazing, and he could see nearly the entire civilization of Ec Pand. He continued on his way up a rocky path to a small, stone structure he called home. For now, anyways. Darek needed to be constantly on the run if he ever wanted to find the 5 existing Jedi without being discovered by the Empire. The Empire was currently unaware of Darek's existence, and he hoped to keep it that way, at least for the time being. He opened his front door and stepped inside, away from the cold air. He stepped over to his stove and began to cook some of his favorite stew. He could only cook with the plants native to this planet, however, so his recipe knowledge was currently limited. It wasn't long after Darek had sat down in front of the fire with his meal that there was a hurried knock on the door. He rushed to see who it was. Placing his hand on the holo-scanner, Darek was presented with a projected display of who was on the other side of the door.

"Hurry! Let me in!" Jes cried.

Darek smiled. His friend has returned. He opened the door and let him inside. He knew very well what this was all about; He had found another Jedi, and it was time to get started.


	2. Chapter 2: The Mission

Star Wars - Dark Future: Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The Mission

Darek Venofskii slid his hand across the screen lock on the door, opening it with a soft, mechanical hum. Jes Kanami, one of the three found Jedi, stumbled inside. Jes was a former fighter pilot for the Empire, but after discovering he was force-sensitive, he started a small uprising within the Empire and escaped to Dantooine. The Empire tried to hunt him down for a short while, but they were unaware of his supernatural abilities and gave up their search. For the last 6 years, Jes has been living in solitude and harnessing his powers to one day rise against the Empire. While participating in small trade deals in Dantooine's big city, Darek Venofskii discovered Jes at a library studying forbidden Jedi holocrons. This rare meeting led the two to work together and eventually create a new Jedi Order. Jes and Darek seed the galaxy searching far and wide for signs of Jedi anywhere, and after months of looking, they finally stumbled upon a small town farmer named Ren Taambas. Ren Taambas was a former Imperial ship crew member, but not for just any ship. He worked on the infamous Slave IV, the third spiritual successor to the legendary Slave I, owned by bounty hunter Boba Fett. The ship is roughly twice the size of an Imperial Star Destroyer, and has the destructive capabilities of a death star. After wiping out a planet that resisted the NAE (New Age Empire), Ren retired and quit his job due to guilt. He soon discovered that the part of him that wanted to leave the Empire was also the same part of him that was influenced by midichlorians, and he quickly realized his gift. Ren Taambas studied the old ways of the Jedi, and trained to learn to utilize and manipulate the force. He eventually traveled to a small planet off of the Endor system, and became a farmer outside of the NAE's jurisdiction. When Darek and Jes found him, they formed a small elite team of Surviving Jedi, whose ultimate goal was to find any force-users left in the galaxy.

Jes took off his black leather trench coat and tossed it over a chair near the fire. "I have good news," he said.

"You have found someone?" Darek inquired.

"Maybe. I'm not one hundred percent sure yet, but there is a small chance we may have found another."

"Where is he?"

"It's a she," Jes replied. "She's in the Alderaan System and goes by the name 'Night-Stalker'. I have received information concerning this person. She happens to be a local bounty hunter, but some say she has unique abilities that make her an extra-dangerous employee. When I asked locals about these abilities, all they could tell me is that she could strangle people without touching them, and she could convince others of things that they themselves did not believe."

Darek grinned. "Sounds like the force to me. We need to investigate, asap."

"No problem. I already made plans to hire her for a job. We can then meet up with her and interrogate her about her powers."

"What if she doesn't cooperate?" Darek asked. "She could be aggressive, you never know with bounty hunters. Especially if she is a force-user."

"Well, I have good news, and bad news."

"What's the good news?"

"The bad news is, we're going to be meeting on Coruscaunt, which means that we are going to need to keep a very low profile. The good news is, that means it is unlikely that Night-Stalker will try to pull anything. Coruscaunt is an overpopulated, crowded planet, with close-quarters environments and lots of security. We should be safe." Jes pulled something out of his pocket. "Regardless, we are going to need to be safe anyways. This person is known for having killed several Jedi and Sith alike." Jes removed two long, bundled up wires from his pockets. They had odd, tiny little hooks on the ends, and they were both connected to two separate rings.

"What are those?" Darek questioned, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Glad you asked. These are tether-rings. Some new spy technology that I stole from dead stealth troopers. If we run into trouble and the result is combat, we will be wearing these rings which will save us. They basically extend into long wires which attach to our enemy, and we can either electrocute them or pull them in to execute them. I would recommend the stunning option, mainly because it's less messy, but if worse comes to worst we can get out of trouble real fast by making the situation very close-quarters and igniting our lightsabers."

"Interesting. I like the idea," said Darek, approving very much. He liked the concept of a multiple outcome scenario if the situation got bad.

"Here," said Jes, gesturing for Darek to come retrieve one of the rings from his hand. "Take it."

Darek reached over to Jes and took one of the small rings with the wire still ejected. Almost instantly, the wire zipped up into the ring and was completely concealed. Impressed, Darek slipped the small, silver ring onto his finger. Extending his arm towards a wall, he flicked the ring with the intent of testing the functionality of the gadget. Lightning fast, the wire shot out from Darek's index finger and struck the wall. Before he could realize what was happening, he flew across the room and slammed into the wall as the wire finished retreating back into the ring. Jes laughed.

"Next time, try tethering something that isn't immobile."

"Thanks for the heads up," said Darek, sarcastically.

"No problem. Hey, I should probably head to the lodge down at the town. Need to get my sleep before we take off tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Darek exclaimed. "You didn't say we were leaving tomorrow!"

"Well, I did say I scheduled a meeting, didn't I? Pack your things and get some sleep. I'm not too worried about it. You've taught me well, master."

Darek smiled. He had been training Jes Kanami in the ways of the force, but he had never considered himself to be his master, especially since the majority of what Jes knew he taught himself. At this moment, Darek knew that he had to lead a quest. A quest to find every last remaining Jedi in the galaxy, and to end the tyrannical and oppressive rule of the NAE. That quest was going to start with tracking down this bounty hunter, and with any luck, maybe finding a lost Jedi knight. However, this was a lot to hope for, but so far it was the only lead they had. It was time to begin the quest. Darek and Jes went their separate ways that evening, and both got some rest. As he watched the four suns of Ec Pand go down under the great horizon, Darek wondered something. Maybe, just maybe, what if there were more than five Jedi out there in the galaxy? After all, the five were just what he was aware of as far as lineage goes. He had absolutely no idea how many others could possibly be out in the universe. What if there were hundreds of Jedi, just waiting to be found? But Darek knew that this was as distant a fantasy as there was, and there was almost no hope of finding the remaining few Jedi, let alone an army of them. The glory days of the Old Republic were over, and all they could do now is gather a team strong enough to merely create a disruption in the Empire, and fight to the best of their ability. Darek knew well that tomorrow would be a long day, so he went to sleep as the fourth sun finally fell just of sight.


End file.
